Contents

History

Liberal Arts Building

The College grew out of a postgraduate tutorial offered to one young woman graduate of St. Mary's Academy in Monroe, Michigan, in 1899. By 1905 it had grown to a two-year college for women, and in 1910 it was a four-year college chartered to grant degrees.[2] It was then known as St. Mary's College. The College moved to its current location in Detroit in 1927, and at that time became known as Marygrove College.[2] When it moved to Detroit its president was George Hermann Derry, who was the first lay person to serve as a president of a Catholic women's college in the United States.[3]

In the decades after World War I, Marygrove College was an important local center of Catholic social action. Faculty members were chosen for their education, character, and faith, and President Derry encouraged each student to look beyond the prospect of eventual marriage and to become capable of "doing her part in the world's work in whatever sphere of life she may be placed". By 1936, the college catalog spoke in far more emphatic terms of female independence. In 1937, Sister Honora Jack became the College's first woman president.[4] The College accepted its first black student in 1938.[5]

Marygrove College was originally a women's college. It became co-educational in about 1970 during the presidency of Arthur Brown.

Glenda D. Price was appointed as the college's first African-American woman president in 1988.[3] Dr. Price retired in 2006 and continues to be active in Detroit's community revival, most recently with her appointment to the city's financial advisory board.[6][7]

The President since 2006 is David J. Fike. During his tenure there have been several controversial events on campus, including protests over the use of college facilities by the LGBT group Dignity USA,[8][9] an alleged sexual assault on campus,[10] and the opening of a Muslim prayer room.[11]

Setting

Madame Cadillac Hall

The current College encompasses a 53-acre (214,000 m²) campus. There are large lawns and mature trees. The Madame Cadillac and Liberal Arts buildings, by architect D.A. Bohlen & Son, are stunning TudorGothic structures with stained glass windows, wrought iron gates, carved wood decorations, high ceilings, arched doorways, and carved stonework.

Population and degrees offered

Currently, the college has approximately 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students, more than 1,600 students in its distance-learning programs and over 1,200 enrolled in its Professional Development for Teachers program. Marygrove has 31 bachelor's degree programs, 7 master's degree programs, and 20 certification programs. Marygrove also offers an online Master in the Art of Teaching (MAT) program. In the past decade, more teachers (over 28,000 graduates) have earned their MAT degree from Marygrove than from any other college or university in the country. The structure of the MAT program allows working professionals to obtain their master's degree in less than two years.

Campus

The residence hall, Florent Gillet Residence Hall, is open to undergraduates who are at the ages of 17 to 25. Previously Madame Cadillac Hall served as a residence hall.[12]

The college added golf to its list of athletic programs with the installation of a new golf practice facility in the fall of 2010. Marygrove’s golf practice facility, designed by world-renowned golf course architect Tom Doak, offers a leading urban land use plan, incorporating golf practice and other athletic facilities on a small urban land tract.[14] The practice facility will include four different activity areas, including a large practice putting green, a large sand bunker, two practice tee areas to accommodate up to 26 hitting bays, and a 4-hole short course.[15] In addition to a unique use of urban land, the Golf Practice Facility will incorporate environment-friendly land use and techniques, including minimal disruption to the current trees, using recycled water for irrigation and natural pesticides.[14]

Marygrove College Athletics can be viewed live on the Mustang Sports Network. The MSN is the home of Marygrove Volleyball, Marygrove Soccer, Marygrove Basketball, and Baseball. Live video coverage is available for every home game with additional live audio coverage of select road games. Contests can be heard and seen live at marygrovemustangs.com/live